Grace Bible Church was planted by Temple Bible Church in 2006. We helped plant Covenant Community Church of Pearland in 2009 (now Redemption Church), Watershed Church of Kempner in 2013, Christ Community Church of Harker Heights in 2019. We have also helped informally with several others. We host church planting residents and are taking applications for future residents. Contact [email protected] for more information.
CHURCH PLANTING FAMILY
Our Senior Pastor, Dave McMurry, has assessed and coached church-planters as a member of Acts 29. Dave was trained by Gary DeSalvo, who re-planted Temple Bible Church after graduating from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1982. He was also mentored by the professor of Church Planting at Covenant Seminary, and has remained a friend to many PCA pastors. Dave attended First Evangelical Free Church in St. Louis, which was a leader in EFCA church planting. Dave used Mike Andrus’ “Adolescent Daughter” model and Tim Keller’s “Redeemer Church Planting Manual” when planting Grace Bible Church. After planting Grace Bible Church, Dave joined the Acts 29 Church Planting Network.
Dave’s story about joining Acts 29:
“When we started public services, a member recommended the preaching of Matt Chandler to me. He said Chandler was a great model of what we were trying to accomplish in our new church. I enjoyed listening to his preaching. A few months later I was able to have lunch with Matt when he was teaching at a nearby college. Matt gave us good advice about leading a young church, and he gave us a better idea of what Acts 29 was all about. That year, I met some board members at a conference and read a book by one of the founders. I respected that they were learning from heroes of mine like Tim Keller and John Piper. As I heard Acts 29’s heart for the Gospel, I was excited to lock arms with them in church planting. I attended my first Acts 29 Boot Camp in February 2008 in Seattle and around the same time got a call from Daniel Davis, the planter of Covenant Community Church in Pearland, Texas. Daniel wanted to train with me and plant CCC with Acts 29. I wanted to get some help from a brotherhood of church-planting churches. I was assessed in 2008, and joined in January of 2009. Through Acts 29, I became a certified coach and assessor. I enjoy helping young pastors develop.”
Acts 29 is not a denomination. It is a multi-denominational brotherhood of church planters who help other church planters get started. Members share a commitment to gospel-centered reformation theology and cultural engagement. The network has planted churches all over the world. There are members who are from independent Bible-churches, Presbyterian, Baptist, Calvary Chapel, Evangelical Free Churches, Assemblies of God, and many other affiliations. The global network has begun to multiply into many regional networks.
Dave served for two years as the Area Leader for Waco-Temple-Killeen. Then, in 2023, we left the network to focus on developing our current local and global relationships.
